Inkworld
by Miss Lavender Sky
Summary: Meggie manages to read herself into the book...by herself. Who will she meet and what will she do there?
1. Reading

**A/N: This is just something I've had on my computer for a while now, and it takes place after Inkspell. Hope you like it!**

Meggie sat on her bed. She was fourteen now. Well, almost. Her birthday was in three days. She tried to remember her last birthday. She had been thirteen. All at once, it came back.

She suddenly remembered everything about that time. It was almost three years ago when their troubles first started.

Inkheart.

That book changed her life. She remembered Capricorn, Mortola, Fenoglio, Basta, Dustfinger, Farid.

Farid! It had been almost two years since she had last seen him. He had stayed behind to bring back Dustfinger. Dustfinger, who had died.

She smiled as she thought of him. He had been there for everything that happened too.

Knock- Knock. "Meggie! Time for bed!" called Mo. Meggie glanced at her watch. It was 11:30. "Good night, Mo!" she called. She turned off the lamp on the table next to her. She fell asleep suddenly into dreams.

In her dreams, she relived everything that had happened in that world, in the Inkworld. Some part of her missed it, and the other liked her life just the way it was. It seemed like the second part always got its way.

* * *

When Meggie awoke in the morning, she felt dizzy. The room was spinning, like it did when she would spin around in circles when she was little. And it felt really hot, as if she was sitting up against the fireplace like she did when she was reading. Except this time it felt as if she had fallen in.

She tried to sit up. She had hardly moved, and, yet, she felt a sharp pain forming at the top of her head.

"Mo," she croaked. She knocked on the wall. She had the room next to his. "Mo!" she called again.

This time she heard footsteps. He was getting out of bed now. She heard her door creak open.

"Hi, Meggie," said Mo. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel good," she moaned.

Mo leaned forward and felt her forehead. His usually smiling face was full of concern.

"I think I might have a fever," she added weakly.

"I think you might," he said. "I'll go get your mother."

He left the room in search or Resa, Meggie's mother. Even still, Meggie felt a little better. Mo had always comforted her, and just the presence of him had made her feel a little less dizzy.

Soon, her father returned with Resa, and they decided that she would not get out of bed all day, and continuing if necessary. They took care of her, and at least one of them was always sitting with her.

But no mater what they did, the fever would not go down. She remained in bed, all the heat in the house was turned off, and there were three fans in her room. If Meggie had been feeling better, she would have laughed at everything that they were doing for her. But all she could do now was offer a weak smile.

Later that night, she fell into a peaceful sleep. When she awoke, she felt much better. She still had a little bit of a fever, and a headache, and was told to remain in bed, but she was doing fine.

At about two o' clock, when both of her parents were sitting in her room, Resa reading aloud, something very strange happened.

It had felt as if the room shivered for a moment. And then… Meggie was gone. She had just disappeared. Just like three years ago, when she had disappeared into the Inkworld. But she had read herself into the book. She wasn't reading this time. She had just… disappeared.

* * *

"Where am I?" said Meggie. Her voice wasn't croaky anymore, but her head still ached. It took her a minute to realize where she was.

She was back, back in the Inkworld, a place she hadn't seen for three years.

Everything was beautiful. Sunlight, golden sunlight, shone through the tops of the trees. Flowers grew from every space, every nook and cranny that they could. Green was visible from every direction. Fairies flitted around, their little wings beating faster than a humingbird's.

Funny how everything looked so familiar even after three years.

She stood up, and, feeling a rushing pain swirling through her head, she remembered that she was supposed to be back in her room, with her parents, and Elinor, and Darius. She was supposed to be in her bed because she was still sick. She wasn't supposed to be here. This place belonged to the past, to the world of words and books.

Thinking about this made her wonder why and how she was here. She didn't read herself here and Mo hadn't either.

She took another look around. It was so beautiful here. She only wished she was feeling well enough to enjoy it. She was sure that her fever had disappeared, but her head ached, and she was starving- she hadn't been ale to eat anything while she was sick.

She walked around for a moment before she saw a fairy fly past her. It made her think. Why should she have to sit out just because she was sick? She knew that wasn't really the reason. She wasn't supposed to be here. She should be back in her bed a whole world away. She felt guilty because she wanted to be here when she didn't belong here.

The fairy flew past her again, as if trying to convince Meggie to follow her.

It won't help just sitting here, she thought. I might as well enjoy myself.

She chased the fairy, running through the woods as if it was nothing but grass. She saw a small waterfall that went into a river. She reached her hand in. It felt colder than melted ice, but that didn't bother her. She splashed it around. She ran through the woods again, like a little girl playing a one-person game of tag, running from no one, but sorrow.

Meggie ran through everything like it was a dream that would evaporate as quickly as it had appeared to her. She saw a little bear cub and ran towards it. She knew she shouldn't, but she felt like nothing could hurt her right now. She picked it up and swung around and she saw a bear-like smile appear on its face. They were playing when a deer came up to them. It was young, hardly old at all. It had seen the fun and wanted to play. They were followed by a few other creatures.

Meggie felt like a storybook princess. Maybe Snow White or Sleeping Beauty when they played with all their forest friends.

She was having such a grand time that she did not see the eyes watching her.

Farid watched the girl as she played in the woods. He did not know who she was, but she made him smile. She sat there for a moment thinking. Then a fairy flew by, entrancing her. She chased it like a little girl would chase a butterfly. She splashed the icy water of the river as if they were warm as the day around her. She ran through the woods as gracefully as a deer would. She played with the creatures there as if they were her best friends in the world. She walked slowly through the woods, a little bear cub on her shoulder, a deer following beside her. She hummed a quiet tune to herself, one that sounded vaguely familiar.

He saw Dustfinger crouched in the bushes next to him, watching her as if he was trying to figure out who she was.

Farid inched closer to get a better look through the dense bushes. He stepped on a small twig and he cursed as it broke in half.

The girl and her music had stopped, the spell broken. She looked around, her face alarmed, as if fear had replaced her joy.

Farid and Dustfinger stepped out, along with Orpheus, the writer, who had been with them. The girl gasped.

Farid studied her. She had a beautiful, pale face, but her cheeks were rosy from playing around. She had long, golden hair almost down to her waist. She wore a white skirt and a sky-blue shirt, one that matched the shade of her sparkling blue eyes exactly. A smile lit up her face as she saw who they were.

Farid didn't recognize her until he looked at her eyes. They were blue, like the sky. "Meggie?" he asked, unsure. She smiled again and laughed, nodding. Her laugh sounded lovely to him.

Dustfinger had looked at her trying to figure out who she was. When he realized it was Meggie, his eyes widened. He had thought it was Resa. Well, maybe not exactly Resa, but a dream or something like it. He looked at her. She looked exactly the same as Resa. She was about the same height as Resa, the same eyes, the same everything. She laughed like Resa, and he imagined that Resa would have loved playing with all those animals as her daughter had done.

The only thing different was her hair. Resa had darker hair, maybe from being around all those horrible people for so long. Meggie's hair was the exact color of gold, as he imagined Resa's hair might've once looked like.

Farid threw his arms around her. Dustfinger himself seemed to be surprised to see her, and he was never surprised about anything. Or at least, that's what it seemed like. He wouldn't have been able to imagine Meggie coming here, let alone her being so different. She, however, could recognize him easily. Two years hadn't changed much of him. He was a bit paler and thinner, but other than that, he was the same.

"What am I doing here?" asked Meggie. "I read you into the book," said Orpheus. "Just like you read me into the book." Dustfinger and Farid looked incredulously at him. "I wanted to see if I could get her to come," he said. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to get your hopes up." Meggie nodded as if she understood.

"How long has it been?" asked Orpheus. "Two years," answered Meggie. She wondered why they were asking her all these questions, instead of telling her why she was here. "So you must be…" said Dustfinger, trailing off. "Fourteen today," she told them. "Well, happy birthday," said Dustfinger. "It must be nice, taking a trip somewhere on your birthday," he said smiling. She returned the smile. Then she coughed. She obviously wasn't completely well yet. "Are you alright?" asked Farid. She nodded and smiled again, happy to find that the most beautiful dream she'd ever had was, in fact, no dream at all.


	2. Basta Returns!

**A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that I don't Inkheart or the characters. Obviously.**

"Where are we going?" Meggie asked about 10 minutes later, after they had been walking down a rocky path. "To Roxane's," Farid whispered.

It was further away than Meggie had thought. First there was the rocky road, then they spent about a half and hour on a forest trail. Now they had to cross a river… with a waterfall at the end.

Dustfinger managed to swim across first. He pulled out a rope and tied on end to a tree next to him. Then he tossed over the other end to Farid, who tied it to another tree.

Then they had to cross using the rope. They used it like the monkey bars at Meggie's old preschool. But if you fell, it was deadly, for you'd end up going down the waterfall. They hung from the rope and put one hand in front of the other until they made it to the other side.

Meggie was last to go. She was afraid of heights, but didn't let it show. She didn't want the others to think she was scared. She didn't want to get left behind.

She grabbed the rope and started going across. She was about halfway across when she heard a shout. She looked back at the end where she had come from and saw a single person. But that one person was enough to send a chill up her spine. It was Basta and his silly little knife. Although, right now, that knife didn't look so silly to Meggie right now.

She knew what was going to happen before it did. Basta pulled on the rope, causing it to untie on the other end. And then he cut the rope on his end, sending Meggie into the water below, until only her screams could be heard.

Farid almost jumped into the water himself, but Dustfinger held him back.

They looked up at Basta. "Why would you do that?" asked Farid. They all knew the answer. Basta's heart was as black as the coal that the fire ate.

"Oh, don't worry," called Basta. "She won't die. She's very strong for a little witch." He looked down the waterfall and smirked. "There are a few men down there waiting to catch the little brat."

"You can't keep her prisoner again," called Farid. "We'll save her!" "Oh, she won't be a prisoner," Basta laughed. "Why let her rot in a dungeon when she can help? No, she'll be a maid. Mortola's maid, actually. Just like her mother." Dustfinger just stared at him.

"Well, Dustfinger, she'll be with your daughter now, Brianna, isn't it? Did I tell you that we caught her too? She's working for Mortola now too." Dustfinger wanted to cut the smirk off Basta's face with his own knife. "What about Roxane?" he asked through clenched teeth. "Oh, we left her. Mortola says we don't need to deal with her. She wouldn't make a great maid, you know."

All they heard was his laugh as he walked away.

* * *

Mo and Resa blinked. The room had shuddered, as if it was sighing. And then, Meggie was gone. "Where is she?" asked Resa. "Inkworld," said Mo. He didn't know how he knew it; he just did. Like a person knows when their loved one has died or that they failed the test they were taking.

Mo ran downstairs to get Elinor and Darius, while Resa stayed upstairs. She couldn't believe it. The same kind of thing had happened two years ago. But it was alright. It had to be. They had gotten Meggie back last time and they'd get her back this time.

They had to wait an hour and a half while Elinor and Darius got back. They had been book shopping again- they were picking up a book for Meggie's birthday. They left as soon as they heard, but they were pretty far away. During that time, Resa and Mo stayed in Meggie's room, waiting to see if she got back.

When everyone was back and in the room, Mo told them that he was going back into the story. The others insisted that they would go to.

While they were figuring this out, the room shuddered again. Mo and Resa looked back at Meggie's bed, hoping their daughter had been brought back, but saw only an empty bed.

Instead, there was a small, clear, glass ball rolling on Meggie's dresser. It was like those that psychics used to tell the future.

Mo picked it up. Suddenly, it clouded over. Then they saw Dustfinger's face in the glass. "Hi, Silvertounge, Resa." "Where is Meggie?" he asked. "She's here," said Dustfinger. "Can I talk to her?" asked Mo, happy that it was Dustfinger who had found her and not someone else.

Dustfinger frowned. "She's not with us," he said. "What? Where is she?" asked Elinor. "Basta has her." Mo's eyes widened and Resa gasped.

"Now, don't try to get in here, Silvertounge. You either, Darius," said Dustfinger. "Someone- someone magic- has made it so that no one can read themselves in here. Meggie only got in because Orpheus read her in." Mo turned white, helpless to help his daughter. "But I can always ask the fairies here for help. I can bring her and Farid back when I've found her." Mo nodded. "Where is she exactly?" asked Elinor. "Basta's taking her to the castle. She's to work for Mortola," Dustfinger said. "What?" Darius asked. Resa's face hardened. Everyone was quiet. They knew that Resa had had to work for her and that she had a score to settle with Mortola for imprisoning her for so long.

"When can you bring her back?" asked Resa. "A week at the earliest," Dustfinger replied. "One of you keep this in your pocket and I can talk to you whenever I need to." Resa nodded.

"See you in a week then," he said nervously. "See you in a week," repeated Resa.

Meggie woke up after a long sleep. She thought she was back in her room for a moment, but then remembered. She was sitting in a stiff bed with a thin, scratchy sheet to keep warm.

"Finally up, are you?" asked a rather rude maid next to her. "You won't always be getting this kind of special treatment, but Mortola insists that you get better before you start working." Then she smirked. "But then again, you should be all ready by night, don't you think?" Meggie felt like she would never be better.

"Too bad for you, after tonight you won't be able to see much of me," added the maid.

Meggie slept through the day and awoke only when the maid came back and told her to get up. Meggie felt worse than ever, as if she had been poisoned.

"Get ready to go to work," said the maid. "Here's your uniform." She pointed to a stiff, white dress with a long skirt. It would have been pretty if it wasn't so starched. Meggie thought it looked like it could stand up by itself if she tried it. "You're to work until Mortola tells you to stop. Which usually isn't until after a day or two." She smirked again. "And don't be expecting food. You lost your food privileges for a week for sleeping the whole day." The old maid laughed as she walked away.

A few minutes later, after Meggie had put on her white dress and pulled her hair back with a ribbon, there was a knock on the door. Meggie dearly hoped that it wasn't the same maid, back to torture her again.

It was a girl, with bright red hair that was pulled back, about Meggie's age, maybe a little older. "Do you need any help?" she asked shyly. "Could you show me where to go?" asked Meggie, just as shyly. "Here follow me," replied the girl. "My name's Meggie." "I'm Brianna," said the girl.

Meggie thought she had heard that name somewhere before and searched her mind for it. "You're Dustfinger's daughter, aren't you?" Meggie asked. Brianna nodded and gave a small smile, but Meggie could see the pain in her eyes.

Dustfinger probably didn't tell her where he'd been. Why would he when no one would believe him? thought Meggie.

There was silence for a moment, Brianna's curiosity fighting with her need to forget. "How do you know him?" she asked finally. Meggie sighed and looked at her. "You don't know where he's been for the last ten years, do you?" Brianna looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. "He wouldn't tell me," she said sadly. There was no missing the sadness in her voice. "What if I could tell you?" Meggie asked her. Brianna smiled at this. "Then I'd say, 'Tell me.'"

Meggie told her the whole story while they were working. They had to scrub the floors, so they could still talk to each other, especially since there was no one else in the room. Brianna was surprised, but then she smiled again. "It's a good story, but how do I know if it's true?" she asked. "Because I was there," replied Meggie. Brianna still looked uncertain. "Where do you think Mortola and Basta went? And Gwin? And the Shadow? How do you think Capricorn died? How do you think I'm here?" she asked.

Brianna finally accepted this, and they went on cleaning all through the next day. "Do you often have to do this?" asked Meggie. "Well, I've only been here for two weeks, but, as far as I can tell, yes. You eat and sleep when you can, but the rest of the time, you work," replied Brianna. "This must have been what it was like for my mother," said Meggie. She told Brianna about her mother and how she had had to work for Mortola as well.

They parted later the next night to catch as much as sleep as they could.


	3. Caught Again

Dustfinger and Farid snuck through the gates. It was easy enough. There weren't any guards on duty for those five minutes. They must have been in-between guards.

It had taken them almost a whole week to get here. They had slept only for a few hours each day and had eaten just enough to get through. Orpheus had decided to stay behind and they would all meet up with him later.

They found out where Meggie was and snuck their way through the castle. Dustfinger wondered why there were so few people. There were only a few maids cleaning in each room. He was looking for a girl, a girl with red hair the color of the flames that he played with all the time.

They had searched nearly the whole castle before they had found Meggie. She was sitting on the floor, scrubbing dirt off the marble floors. She didn't notice that they were there. "Brianna!" she called. "I'm done over here! Do you need help?" "Sure, come on over," she called back, and for the first time, Dustfinger realized his daughter was on the other side of the room.

Both girls wore white dresses, and looked a little worse for the wear, especially Meggie. She was much thinner than they had seen her last, and was very pale. They both looked very tired, as if they hadn't slept for a few days, and Meggie seemed like she was still ill.

Brianna looked up as Meggie sat down next to her and she saw Dustfinger and Farid. She glanced at Farid, then looked coldly at her father. Then she looked at Meggie as if to say, "Are you sure?' Meggie nodded. Brianna looked back at Dustfinger. Her face softened and she smiled. Dustfinger was happy, but confused. The last time he had seen her, she acted as if she despised him. "Meggie told me," she said, seeing his confused expression. "I'm sorry." Dustfinger looked at Meggie, who smiled, then looked back at Brianna and smiled.

Meggie was glad that Brianna and Dustfinger were happy, but she wondered how they managed to sneak in here and how long they would have.

As if he could read her mind, Dustfinger said, "Come on, we need to get going. It's been a while already and we don't need anyone alerting the guards about us."

They snuck out of the castle easily. Meggie and Brianna were upset that they couldn't help the other maids and servants escape, but Dustfinger promised them that they'd come back for them.

They walked on for a while. They were going to Roxane's, but this time, they had an easier route. If they traveled all night, then they would be able to make it by about lunchtime.

They walked almost all night, until about three o'clock in the morning before Meggie fainted. Dustfinger insisted that he would carry her so that they could keep walking, but when he saw how fearful Farid was for Meggie, and how close Brianna was to fainting as well, he sighed, and said that they could stay.

Meggie woke up after a while, looking rather pale. "What's going on?" she asked. "You fainted," replied Dustfinger. Beside him, Brianna was getting some well-needed sleep. Meggie blushed with embarrassment. She didn't want the others to think she was so weak enough that they should leave her behind.

"Are you feeling alright?" Dustfinger asked. Farid was asleep. He had tried to wait until Meggie woke up, but he hadn't slept in a few nights and was exhausted, and fell asleep. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said as she tried to sit up, wincing. She had a rushing pain in her head again.

Dustfinger raised his eyebrows and smiled. "How fine?" he asked. "Well, I was sick when I came here," she said, faltering. Dustfinger's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked. It seemed childish to say that she wanted to feel like she was helping instead of dragging them down. "I thought I was better," she said, looking away. It was the worst lie she'd ever told, but there.

"And what happened after you fell down the waterfall?" he asked. "I hit something. On my head. Something hard." Dustfinger groaned. "And then they made you walk to the castle, didn't they?" he asked her. She nodded. "You're sure to have gotten a cold, or the flu, or something from that!" He wasn't really talking to her anymore.

He stopped questioning her about her health for a moment and, seeing how thin she was, offered her some food. She ate a lot- two sandwiches, an apple, a piece of cake, and three glasses of water. Dustfinger looked very surprised. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked. "The night before you came, Brianna snuck me a few pieces of bread," she answered. "Why did she sneak it to you?" he wanted to know. "I wasn't allowed any food. They told me to try and get better when they found me, and they let me sleep the rest of the day, but then wouldn't give me any food for a week because of it," she said.

Dustfinger was very shocked at this. He knew Mortola was cruel, but he didn't know she was that heartless.

"What about sleep?" he asked. She looked as if she hadn't had decent sleep in a while. "We got it when we could. Maybe a few hours a day. Maybe every other day." Dustfinger whistled.

Poor Meggie and Brianna. Dustfinger had thought he and Farid had had it bad, with about five hours of sleep every day, and some bread and water for meals. Meggie and Brianna had had it much worse.

"Um, can I go back to sleep?" she asked, half-looking as if her head was already on the grass. Dustfinger was going to have them all get up and go when she awoke, but he knew that they all needed some rest. "Sure," he said. It wasn't long before he too fell asleep.

* * *

When Meggie awoke, she first expected to see the cold, drab room of the castle that she worked in. Then she thought of the forest that they had all stayed in together that night.

The place she saw was neither.

She was rolling, no, she was in something that was rolling. She felt dust blow and sneezed. She blinked. She didn't see Farid, Brianna, or Dustfinger.

Surrounding her were several other people. They were mostly dressed in particularly poor-looking clothes, and some were dressed like Meggie, like maids, but here and there were a few dressed a little nicer. There were bars around them. It was a small wagon with bars. Like a rolling prison. It made her think of the R.V. that she and Mo used to have.

She turned to the woman next to her. "What are we doing here?" she asked. The woman looked at her and sighed. "We're prisoners. We'll be slaves for the castle. They took us all from our homes and the fields where we were working. I saw them take you. It was horrible. Never in my life…" Meggie gulped, afraid to ask the next question. "And the others?" The question lingered in the air before the woman spoke. "They got away." Meggie felt she could breathe again.

"There was a man, he whisked the other two away, but he stayed back for a minute, as if he himself was going to try and save you. And there was the boy. He nearly fought his way through the man's arms. And the girl was crying. They all tried to save you at first, but the soldiers knocked them away. Then the man called out to them, 'You won't get far! We'll find her and we'll save them all!' He looked like he didn't want to say it, but did anyway." Meggie looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"I recognize this dress. A maid for Mortola, right?" she asked. Meggie was surprised and nodded. "That woman was the worst I had ever worked for. Hardly any food and almost no sleep." The woman looked up, as if the memories and pain were replaying in her mind.

"So, we're to be slaves?" Meggie asked. "Well, that's what they say. But I think they're going to kill us all!" said the woman. Meggie's eyes grew as wide as a child listening to a ghost story. Seeing her alarmed expression, the woman assured her there was nothing to worry about.

"My name's Mary," she said. "Meggie." "Meggie… I've heard that name before. You aren't by any chance the, um, witch that they all talk about?" She looked so fearful that it made Meggie laugh for a moment. "I suppose I am a witch, but not in the way you think," she said. "I heard them talking about you. They said that you have the powers to wipe all the bad out of here. That someday, you'll do real magic, like the witches that live so far away," she said her voice quieter than a whisper, and more fearful than a child in the dark. Meggie's eyes widened. "I don't know about any of that," she said. "But I know that they want any reason to catch me."

* * *

Farid was fuming again and Dustfinger knew why. They had come to take Meggie away.

Dustfinger wasn't sure how they managed to find them, and he couldn't believe that he had fallen asleep, leaving no one to watch them. He also wasn't sure why they had only taken Meggie.

Both Farid and Brianna were upset; they didn't want to leave Meggie. Dustfinger didn't want to leave her alone, but he had two others to protect. He couldn't save one child just to put two others in danger. But, of course, he couldn't explain this to Farid and Brianna. They didn't think that they were children. They thought they could handle anything. But Dustfinger thought differently. He remembered times when people had done things like that. It never ended up well.

Dustfinger was afraid that they'd make a plan to go off in the middle of the night to save her. He was so scared of this that he actually stayed up all night to make sure they wouldn't run away.

He decided that they'd figure out a plan in the morning.


	4. Freedom

Mo and Resa stayed in Meggie's room almost until midnight. They'd get up early to come look to see if she was back. They were so anxious about the whole thing that they hardly came out of Meggie's room.

"Why do you wait in there all the time?" Elinor would ask. "Just because she disappeared there doesn't mean she'll appear there. I'm sure that fire-eater will tell you when she's coming home. Isn't that what he's supposed to do?"

They thought about the little glass ball that Dustfinger gave them. But they'd tried it already. They couldn't find him. He had to find them. This was all part of his trick. He was afraid really. He didn't want to talk to them to tell them bad news. He couldn't stand seeing Silvertounge's sad gaze as he thought about his daughter or Resa's tears when he told her where she was.

They thought that since Dustfinger hadn't talked to them that things were going well. It was the opposite. Dustfinger refused to talk to them until things were better. But Farid and Brianna were trying to talk him into telling them everything that had happened.

"Wouldn't you want to know if Brianna was hurt or something?" Farid asked one night while Brianna was asleep and he and Dustfinger were keeping watch. This always made him wonder. He almost did call that time, but stopped himself just in time.

Brianna tried to persuade him to talk to Meggie's parents as well. "Don't you think they would at least like to know what's going on? Even if it's bad news?" Then he shook his head. "I remember when you were gone, I wished more than anything that I could have known what was happening to you- good or bad."

He actually had picked up the glass ball at this point. He hated arguing with his daughter and felt so badly about the last ten years, and how he hadn't told her anything in the two years that he'd been back.

* * *

Meggie never did find out what the soldiers had originally planned on doing with them- whether to make them slaves or to kill them. Nor did she hear any more about the rumors circling her own self.

In the morning, it was announced that they would be taken to the castle instead of the battlegrounds. She remembered the last time she had been on those battlegrounds. All that had happened there, all the death and violence that circled that place, it sickened her to think about it.

It was another day before they made it to the castle. The men were put to work in the fields and women and girls like Meggie were maids. Those that were too weak to work- the old men and women, small children, ill people- were put in the dungeons. If they became able to work, they would get to come out and work, but most stayed in those dungeons since they couldn't get better in such harsh conditions.

Meggie worked tirelessly. She wasn't to receive food for the first two days because she had run away once.

She remembered how her mother's eyes had darkened and clouded at the very mention of this. It hurt her to remember everything that had happened to her in Capricorn's village. It had frightened Meggie to see her mother so upset. Meggie decided to work as Resa had, without complaining.

There was only one thing that she enjoyed about her job: gossip. She had thought that the maids were untalkative, but she was wrong. She found out many things from her job.

But the most interesting was the one about her. It was the same that she had heard from Mary in the "rolling jail." She was very confused by this rumor and wondered who had started it. Still, she kept her ears open for news.

One night she heard that there were people coming. Not regular guests, but people who were going to sneak in. Of course, no one with any higher rank knew anything about this, so there was no danger there. Meggie asked a few people about it and got one of the maids to tell her that it was to be a boy, a girl, and an older man. Nobody knew who they were, what they were doing, or why they were coming.

No one but her, that is.

* * *

Everything had happened so fast that Meggie kept pinching herself to see if she was dreaming or not.

It had been a rampage. No one had known that almost everyone, except for the slaves and servants, weren't there. There were just enough guards there to make sure the servants didn't run away, and there was a cook or two to make the meals for everyone.

Everyone else was at another castle. There was to be a party for someone- a royal, of course- and everyone had left for that.

Everything was easier than Dustfinger could have hoped for. He had managed to find the Black Prince and a few of his men. There were scarcely a dozen of them, including Farid- they had left Brianna at Roxane's-but Dustfinger dearly hoped that there would be enough to get Meggie out of there.

It was.

There was a guard in the dungeons, five inside, and three outside. And the cooks couldn't fight. They ran out the door as soon as they saw them. So it was twelve to nine. Dustfinger grinned. This would work. They didn't need to kill the guards, just get them out of the way.

They attacked the outside guards first. One person would slip his hand over the guard's mouth, one would tie up his hands and feet, and the other would gag them. It only required three people per guard so it was done quickly. It took two people to carry them inside though. After about an hour, all that was left was the guard in the dungeon. Ten men helped carry the other guards, and the other two tied up the dungeon guard. Then they left all nine guards in the dungeon cell. But just to be nice, they undid their gags. It would be alright if they were heard in a week or so, when everyone got back.

The servants and slaves were ecstatic. They thought that they would be doomed to live out the rest of their lives working there. The prisoners were also free as well. Some had to be helped along by the others, for some of them were too weak to walk.

But they had made it; that was all that mattered. They were going home.


	5. Making Things Right

Meggie was the last to leave the castle. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. Every time she was caught in some trouble, someone was always there to save her. It was as if she herself was part of a story, and the author had seen all that had happened, all the death and woe that had happened, and was afraid. Afraid of killing, afraid of dying, afraid of death itself. In this chapter of her life, no one had died. But she could sense there was something else. She felt that the story wanted to hear more from her. She wasn't done; her work wasn't over. This thought made her strangely happy because she knew that she had a purpose.

If Meggie had been reading this chapter, as you are now, she wouldn't have been so happy. She felt that the number 13 was strangely unlucky. It was just superstision, she knew. But, in some of her favorite books, 'Chapter 13' meant bad news. And Meggie wasn't safe from this bad luck either.

She had been thinking about what that woman in the cart, Mary, had said. Something about magic. Meggie doubted it was true, but still secretly thought the whole idea sounded lovely and fantastic. She imagined herself doing magic several times. She had to make up answers for all the questions: Why? When? Where?

In fact, Meggie was so busy that she didn't notice where they were going. They were headed towards to forest. Meggie knew that the Black Prince and his men had a hideout there. Meggie smiled. They would be safe…for a while.

They all had a few hours of sleep and a large dinner. That was as close as they got to peace. A man who had been serving as a lookout came back to the hideout about ten o' clock, panting and out of breath. "They came back early. They had a spy wait to see if anything would happen." He paused here, taking a large gasp of a breath. "He told them and they're coming. They're coming here. He followed us. He knows where we are." The Black Prince's eyes became clouded with worry. "Where are they now?" he asked. "The battlefields." The Black Prince nodded. He ordered all those that would be able to prepare for battle.

It was during this time that Meggie knew what she had to do. She felt those words, tugging her along like strings. She had to follow the words. She had to trust the words.

* * *

During all the commotion of everyone getting ready, she slipped out of the forest. No one could really see her in the black blanket of night and, if anyone did, they weren't paying her any attention.

She walked past the forest, past the river, past all the places that seemed so unfamiliar and yet so familiar at the same time. It took her scarcely an hour to get there. She hardly passed anyone. Why not? News would surely travel fast, especially news of terror. They were still at the battlefields when she arrived.

They saw her, tired and weary, and were confused first, but then grinned from ear to ear when they recognized her. She would be the perfect bait to finish off all the others. But she had other plans.

The others arrived just in time to see everything. They weren't quite at the battlefields yet, but they could see everything from where they were. Everyone was there- Farid, Dustfinger, even Orpheus and Fenoglio, the writers. Roxane and Brianna were there too, not to fight, but to heal. They were all sick with worry, she could tell.

They hadn't heard the rumors. They didn't trust the words. But she did.

There was something magnificent about that fight. It wasn't just the magic. It was the idea of belief, the belief that everything would turn out alright.

It started when the first soldier took a step forward. There were blinding white flashes everywhere. They weren't coming from her, but the ground, Meggie realized. But deep down it really was her. It was the power of her fear, of her love, of her hopes, and of her belief.

Bright flashes of light shot out of the ground, like a lightning storm that had been turned upside down. After only a few minutes, the light was taking its toll on the army. It had brought many down. Usually, she would be terribly upset to see them dead. But this time she knew that she wasn't bringing death. It was goodness and light and hope and everything else that was beautiful. There would be no pain, just black hearts turning to regular hearts again. That was all. Her job wasn't to do away with those who were evil, just to do away with evil.

By this time, many of the other side, Meggie's side were joining her. She was frightened that they would kill each other, but they had a different idea. They would grab hold of a man, and hold him up against one of the bolts of light. It would change him. There was no need for weapons now.

But now, Meggie realized that this had to end soon. This energy was feeding upon all that was good, but it was also weakening her. She knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer.

She only hoped it would be good enough. It sure looked like it though. Every man who was hit by that light changed sides. Soon there were hardly enough people on the other side to make up a ragtag team.

Meggie knew she had to do something. She was losing ground fast. There was no way this could go on for more than another ten minutes.

But wait, Meggie realized. We don't need too much time. Just enough good. She had to think of something good. Something so good that it would finish the whole battle.

Family. She remembered this and felt herself get stronger.

Friends. Stronger still.

Faith. The power and goodness she felt was overwhelming now.

Hope.

At this single thought, everything else melted away as a lightning bolt, big as anything Meggie had ever seen hit the ground, finishing what Meggie needed to do.

And this was the last thing Meggie saw before she hit the ground.


	6. Going Home

"She won't make it. You know that. You saw what happened." It was Dustfinger's voice. Who were they talking about? Who wouldn't make it? "But she has to! She will!" She smiled. That was Farid, determined as ever, as if he thought he could make things happen through will. "Well, she might make it. She's still made it this far hasn't she?" That was Brianna's voice. It was unsure, but Meggie could still hear the little, quivering drop of hope in it. "What do you think Roxane?" Dustfinger asked. "I'm sorry," Roxane replied. "I don't think so." "She will." It was almost a whisper, but Meggie could still hear the quiver in Farid's voice.

It suddenly dawned on her that they were talking about her. She wondered why they were talking about her like this when she was right here.

"Come on," Dustfinger said. "We need to go into town for a bit. Brianna, will you stay here with her for a bit?" "Sure."

"Wait! Don't leave!" she wanted to cry, but she couldn't find her voice.

Suddenly she remembered something from before the fight. The feeling of having a purpose, of knowing it wasn't your time yet. Meggie had felt it then and she felt it now.

She opened her eyes. She was at Roxane's farm. Brianna

was sitting next to her, crying.

Meggie managed to sit up. Brianna looked up, her eyes wide with both joy and fear at the thought that this was a dream. Meggie saw her quickly pinch herself before the fear left her eyes. Brianna threw her arms around Meggie. "You're back! I can't believe it! You're back!" Meggie grinned.

After a few minutes later, Meggie left Brianna to go inside and change. She found a beautiful, soft white dress and put it on. It was nothing like the dresses she had worn as a maid. She brushed out her blonde hair and pulled it back in a beautiful comb that Brianna had lent her.

Meggie looked out the window. They were back!

She quickly walked down the stairs to the doors and pushed it open slowly.

The others had no idea what was going on. They thought Brianna was still with Meggie. And there was no one else inside. They were about to look when Meggie stepped out.

She stepped slowly and lightly as if a feather could blow her over. Farid looked at her for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and ran towards her. He picked her up and swung her around. "You're back!" he cried. She looked over at Brianna, who had just come out of the house, who was grinning like she'd never done before. Roxane was crying tears of joy and Dustfinger just stood there, looking as if he had witnessed a miracle.

It was the best day that Meggie could remember in forever.

* * *

A few days later, Meggie was sitting alone on the small porch swing at Roxane's house. She heard footsteps. It was Dustfinger.

"I'm very, um, proud of you," he said. He had adopted Meggie as a sort of step-daughter. He loved the way she reminded him of Resa so much, and how she was willing to do so much for others.

She smiled, then sighed. "But it wasn't good enough. There's still evil. If not in this world, then in another." He nodded. "And there always will be. Nothing can change that." She looked up at him into his eyes. Dustfinger thought she looked just like Resa when she tried to figure out what he was thinking. "You can't banish evil altogether," he said. She nodded sadly. "But you can banish the evil in your own heart." She looked up again and he smiled. It was nice giving these talks to someone. He had never been able to give them to either of his two other daughters and he couldn't talk about this to Farid. He would be sad to see Meggie leave after all they'd been through.

"Tell you what," he said. "I can get the fairies to make a door between the stories. One that you can step through whenever you want without using the book or anything." She looked at him to see if he was joking. She grinned when she realized he wasn't. She nodded. "On one condition: you don't rat me out to your parents about everything that's happened." He grinned. She nodded vigorously. "I think I can keep it a secret."

* * *

Today was the day she was going back. She had already said good-bye to everyone, except for Fenoglio. She saved him until last because she wanted to ask him a question.

"Fenoglio," she said. "Did you write for me to do that?" He knew what she was talking about. He smiled. 'No, I didn't. I thought maybe you'd ask me that soon. But no, I did not write anything like that. In fact, I haven't written in a long time." He sighed and got a faraway look to his eyes as if he was reliving the days that he had spent writing and making up tales. He quickly realized what he was doing, and, a little flustered, continued. "You know, Meggie, we aren't really sure of everything. Maybe everything's a story. Maybe every world, every life, is another story. Maybe you and I are just characters in someone else's book. But as you can see, we're not limited to the words of others. Make it so your story isn't one that was written to tell you what to do, but one to tell others what you did." Meggie smiled at these words. She didn't really understand them, but she felt like she understood what he meant. She nodded.

"You know Dusfinger says he can make something happen so we can go home, but we can still visit this place," Meggie said. "So, are you coming?" she asked. He nodded. "I've been waiting to see my family for a while," he said. He smiled. "Thank you, Meggie. It'll be another chapter in my story."

They both walked towards the door that was made onto home.

THE END

**A/N: So...how'd you like it? Let me know in a review? Also, I have two more sequels already written, so let me know if you think I should add them to this story or add them each as their own separate story. Thanks so much!!! :D**


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